London Zoo has said a sad goodbye to Molly the giraffe today (Tuesday 31 March) who had to be euthanised after sustaining a vision-threatening injury to her eye.
19-year-old Molly, a reticulated giraffe, suffered an injury ot her left cornea a week ago, and due to her flighty and anxious nature, Molly would not allow veterinary teams or her keepers to administer eye drops or any treatment, aside from oral pain medication.
Just like with people, an eye-injury is considered a medical emergency for any animal, and requires immediate care. Molly’s keepers worked closely with the zoo’s veterinary nursing and veterinary teams to explore all feasible ways of providing treatment using her existing care routines. However, due to the sensitivity of the eye and Molly’s understandable reluctance to tolerate close handling around the injury, it was not possible to safely administer the eye drops required.
Oral antibiotics are not effective for this type of eye injury, and the abrasion progressed to a corneal ulcer, showing signs of infection and likely causing Molly significant discomfort. If left untreated, corneal ulcers can result in glaucoma or blindness, meaning the team faced increasingly limited treatment options.
The only remaining option was surgery to remove the eye, which came with its own set of serious considerations. Giraffes are prey animals, with eyes located on each side of their head – the shape and location gives them panoramic peripheral vision and removing one would seriously impact Molly’s spatial awareness and balance. Giraffes have highly unique circulatory systems and the highest blood pressure of any animal in the world, meaning that a general anaesthesia for Molly posed its own set of serious risks.
Surgery would also only be a success if the right post-operative care could take place. Considering Molly’s long-term reluctance to take part in any veterinary training and her extreme resistance to let anyone near her injured eye before surgery, let alone after, surgery was deemed too risky given the likely poor outcome. This led to the incredibly sad, but kindest option for Molly, of euthanasia.
Molly was a well-known and loved animal at London Zoo, adored by those who both cared for and visited her. Arriving at London Zoo in 2009, Molly firmly made her mark on the conservation zoo and beyond. She was a real-life model for Abigail the giraffe in 2023’s film Wonka, she featured in an iconic national moment during the COVID-19 pandemic when a tribute ot the NHS lit up her habitat, and most recently featured in a new Transport for London poster for London Zoo.
Molly will be greatly missed by everyone who knew her, and we thank you in advance for your kindness towards all those who cared for her.